


A Drink to your Health

by ShadowstarKanada



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-19
Updated: 2007-06-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:02:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22522939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowstarKanada/pseuds/ShadowstarKanada
Kudos: 1





	A Drink to your Health

James Wilson is sixteen, but precocious. He goes to a party ~~with his older friends~~ and drinks for the first time, pouring the beer down his throat, ~~fitting in perfectly~~ with all the other kids at the party. It is exciting, to be sixteen and alive and young and free, and the pounding bass in his ears reminds him that he is happy.

James is seventeen today and has a hangover. His parents are worried, but part of James likes the rebellion of it all. He can be with his brother ~~who is so very cool,~~ as long as he doesn't have a hangover. He doesn't like to be abed, and his brother doesn't come to cheer him up. He's got a hangover too.

Jimmy is eighteen, and out of high school. He is all grown up, and toasts his health ~~with all his friends in the park~~. His whole life is ahead of him, and he and Jessie have all night to learn about their bodies together ~~except that he throws up in her lap~~. He is so happy he could kill himself.

He is nineteen now, and he visits the bars in Montreal every night. He has ~~so many friends~~ , so many acquaintances, ~~and they all love to be with him~~! He orders a round for everyone, ~~and they order a round for him~~. If he doesn't remember his bar tab, or how many drinks he's had, it is only because he is so happy.

He is twenty, and his marks are almost perfect. Almost perfect. He drinks to relax, to keep himself in top form. He works better, studies better when he is (drunk and) relaxed. Howard gets him, and always brings vodka to study sessions.

He is twenty one, and everyone buys him something when he goes home ~~except for his brother who is not so cool anymore~~. He's so very happy.

He is twenty two, and entering medical school. His marks are good, but his roommate doesn't understand how he can study when he's so relaxed and happy. He quickly decides his roommate is a teetotaler. He only hides the bottles because his roommate is so stupid about the whole thing.

He is twenty three, and has gotten married during an ~~awfully drunken~~ outing with the boys. He's not quite sure how it happened, but hell! He loves her, and the two of them can party all night if they want to now! There's no one to stop them, and they are very much in love.

He is twenty four, graduating at the top of his class. No one's more uneasy than he is when he stumbles on his way to get his medical degree. Maybe, he thinks, he shouldn't have had that ~~bottle of~~ wine this morning, but then he sees her waving and realizes no one noticed. Everything's great.

He is twenty five, and the drunken night has turned into a drunken day. He's not quite sure how he ended up in bed with Marcy, and his wife doesn't care. She gives him an ultimatum: her or whatever it is he thinks he's still doing, acting ~~like some~~ irresponsible ~~drunkard~~. He could stop drinking any time he wanted, he knows he could, but he doesn't want to, so he calls her bluff. She leaves.

He's twenty six, and the hospital he's working in has decided he has a problem. He knows he doesn't drink that much, but his fellowship supervisor insists, and he's sitting in on an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when he meets Dr. Gregory House, who gives a scare speech about the dangers of liver disease. Wilson pretends he's only there to watch, which is almost true. Wilson and House go out for drinks, and Wilson is _very_ careful.

He's twenty seven when he meets Bonnie. She's sweet and kind, if a bit flakey. He finds it easy to pretend that he's perfect when he's with her. She doesn't even really notice how much money goes into ~~gin and~~ tonic.

Wilson is twenty eight when his brother disappears, and adds three and a half weeks before he finds him, ~~drunk or~~ high or _something_. He puts his brother in a rehab centre and walks away, vowing to never ~~drink~~ again.

Wilson is thirty three when his second marriage dissolves and House has an infarction. He watches as House develops a habit. He fights it as he never fought against his own, but in the end, the habit is not his to break.

These days, Wilson drinks alone. The maids remove the remains of his liquid breakfasts in the morning. He misses ~~his friends and his wives and~~ the House who always seemed to invite him over for Chinese when he felt like drinking himself into a stupor. ~~He could quit again, but what would be the point?~~ His demon is consuming him, and the psychiatrist can't help him, because the habit _is_ his this time.

And he knows it's wrong, but after the rum, he always drives ~~safely~~ to work.


End file.
